"Structure means recognition that unity is at the foundation of everything. To say structure is also to say Abstraction: geometry, rhythm, proportion, lines, planes, idea of object. These are elements of workthey act, they form, they construct and gain significance through the law of unity." These are words that Joaquín Torres-García used to explain Humanistic Constructivism, the abstract geometrical style he is credited with developing. Torres-García, born in Uruguay, and raised in Spain, returned to his birthplace after an absence of forty-three years and became the leading modernist in South America. His style of art helped lay the groundwork for the Arte Concreto-Invenciónan avant-garde movement that emerged in Argentina in the mid-1940s.

Unidentified photographer
Gelatin silver print, circa 1937
Published March 1960ARTnews Collection, New York City
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